Bear cub rescued from tree after his head gets stuck in cookie jar

New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection
/ THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

A bear cub got its head stuck in an oversized cookie jar after rummaging through trash in Ringwood, N.J., on Friday. The cub was rescued by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and local firefighters gingerly cut the jar off its head.

By:The Associated Press, Published on Tue Jul 01 2014

RINGWOOD, N.J.—A frightened bear cub got its head stuck in an oversized cookie jar while rummaging through some trash and had to be rescued from a tree.

Environmental Protection Department spokesman Larry Ragonese says the 6-month-old cub apparently found the cookie jar Friday night in Ringwood, near the New York border.

As the 13-kilogram animal tried to eat what remained in the jar, he apparently pulled it over his head and it got stuck.

The cub became spooked when approached and went up a tree, but got wedged about 12 metres up.

Environmental Protection staffers arranged netting in case the bear fell to the ground. After the animal was tranquilized by a department biologist, it was brought down and local firefighters gingerly cut the jar off its head.